Talented florists from Warwickshire College are selected as among best in the UK

Dean Sharpe with British Florist Association events manager Sarah Cunningham, who presented him with his gold medal. NNL-161129-153132001

Published:16:29Tuesday 29 November 2016

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Two students from Moreton Morrell College have won gold and silver floristry awards in a national competition.

Dean Sharpe won gold at the WorldSkills UK Skills Competition Finals at The Skills Show in Birmingham, while Zoe Simmons won silver.

It is the third gold medal in four years for Moreton Morrell College floristry students: Zoe Rowlinson won in 2013 and Claire Hammond won last year.

Dean and Zoe won their places in the national finals after scoring highly in the national qualifiers of the floristry competition, run in partnership with the British Florist Association. They had to make five different floristry creations under timed conditions over two days.

Dean said: “Winning the gold means so much to me as I’ve really enjoyed doing competitions and this was the big one, so I’m over the moon to come away with gold. It’s given me confidence that what I’m doing is right.”

Zoe said: “When I saw my name on the screen for the silver medal, I was absolutely gobsmacked and so pleased that all this hard work had resulted in a medal.”